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Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.(A) If you know me, you will know[a] my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?(B) 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.(C) 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not, then believe[b] because of the works themselves.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 14.7 Other ancient authorities read If you had known me, you would have known
  2. 14.11 Other ancient authorities add me

Thomas said,[a] “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus replied,[b] “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.[c] No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have known me, you will know my Father too.[d] And from now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said,[e] “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be content.”[f] Jesus replied,[g] “Have I been with you for so long, and you have not known[h] me, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father! How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?[i] The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative,[j] but the Father residing in me performs[k] his miraculous deeds.[l] 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me,[m] believe because of the miraculous deeds[n] themselves.

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Footnotes

  1. John 14:5 tn Grk “said to him.”
  2. John 14:6 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
  3. John 14:6 tn Or “I am the way, even the truth and the life.”
  4. John 14:7 tc There is a difficult textual problem here: The statement reads either “If you have known (ἐγνώκατε, egnōkate) me, you will know (γνώσεσθε, gnōsesthe) my Father” or “If you had really known (ἐγνώκειτε, egnōkeite) me, you would have known (ἐγνώκειτε ἄν or ἂν ἤδειτε [egnōkeite an or an ēdeite]) my Father.” The division of the external evidence is difficult, but can be laid out as follows: The mss that have the perfect ἐγνώκατε in the protasis (P66 [א D* W] 579 it) also have, for the most part, the future indicative γνώσεσθε in the apodosis (P66 א D W [579] sa bo), rendering Jesus’ statement as a first-class condition. The mss that have the pluperfect ἐγνώκειτε in the protasis (A B C D1 L Θ Ψ ƒ1,13 33 M) also have, for the most part, a pluperfect in the apodosis (either ἂν ἤδειτε in B C* [L] Q Ψ 1 33 565 al, or ἐγνώκειτε ἄν in A C3 Θ ƒ13 M), rendering Jesus’ statement a contrary-to-fact second-class condition. The external evidence slightly favors the first-class condition, since there is an Alexandrian-Western alliance supported by P66. As well, the fact that the readings with a second-class condition utilize two different verbs with ἄν in different positions suggests that these readings are secondary. However, it could be argued that the second-class conditions are harder readings in that they speak negatively of the apostles (so K. Aland in TCGNT 207); in this case, the ἐγνώκειτεἐγνώκειτε ἄν reading should be given preference. Although a decision is difficult, the first-class condition is to be slightly preferred. In this case Jesus promises the disciples that, assuming they have known him, they will know the Father. Contextually this fits better with the following phrase (v. 7b) which asserts that “from the present time you know him and have seen him” (cf. John 1:18).
  5. John 14:8 tn Grk “said to him.”
  6. John 14:8 tn Or “and that is enough for us.”
  7. John 14:9 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
  8. John 14:9 tn Or “recognized.”
  9. John 14:10 tn The mutual interrelationship of the Father and the Son (ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί ἐστιν, egō en tō patri kai ho patēr en emoi estin) is something that Jesus expected even his opponents to recognize (cf. John 10:38). The question Jesus asks of Philip (οὐ πιστεύεις, ou pisteueis) expects the answer “yes.” Note that the following statement is addressed to all the disciples, however, because the plural pronoun (ὑμῖν, humin) is used. Jesus says that his teaching (the words he spoke to them all) did not originate from himself, but the Father, who permanently remains (μένων, menōn) in relationship with Jesus, performs his works. One would have expected “speaks his words” here rather than “performs his works”; many of the church fathers (e.g., Augustine and Chrysostom) identified the two by saying that Jesus’ words were works. But there is an implicit contrast in the next verse between words and works, and v. 12 seems to demand that the works are real works, not just words. It is probably best to see the two terms as related but not identical; there is a progression in the idea here. Both Jesus’ words (recall the Samaritans’ response in John 4:42) and Jesus’ works are revelatory of who he is, but as the next verse indicates, works have greater confirmatory power than words.
  10. John 14:10 tn Grk “I do not speak from myself.”
  11. John 14:10 tn Or “does.”
  12. John 14:10 tn Or “his mighty acts”; Grk “his works.”sn Miraculous deeds is most likely a reference to the miraculous signs Jesus had performed, which he viewed as a manifestation of the mighty acts of God. Those he performed in the presence of the disciples served as a basis for faith (although a secondary basis to their personal relationship to him; see the following verse).
  13. John 14:11 tn The phrase “but if you do not believe me” contains an ellipsis; the Greek text reads Grk “but if not.” The ellipsis has been filled out (“but if [you do] not [believe me]…”) for the benefit of the modern English reader.
  14. John 14:11 tn Grk “because of the works.”sn In the context of a proof or basis for belief, Jesus is referring to the miraculous deeds (signs) he has performed in the presence of the disciples.